Instead of his accustomed role as the ultimate role player for the Detroit Pistons, Prince is now one of the team's two veteran leaders.

"We've never had this kind of change since I've been here," Prince said at the team's Media Day. "We've had new coaches before, but not with this many new players. We've lost a lot of the guys that put this franchise on the map over the past few years."

Chauncey Billups left early last season, and Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess both departed as free agents over the summer. That leaves Prince and Richard Hamilton as the team's grizzled veterans, alongside Ben Wallace, who returns after three seasons in Chicago and Cleveland.

"It's a new crop of guys for sure," Hamilton said. "There's a lot of great talent, but it is going to be an adjustment."

New coach John Kuester faces a different challenge than the men that have preceded him — Rick Carlisle, Larry Brown, Flip Saunders and Michael Curry. While those coaches had to try to find offense on a defense-oriented roster, Kuester has the opposite problem.

Detroit's two marquee free agent signings, Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, are both offensive-minded players that have never played lockdown defense.

"If you look at this team, we've got the offensive talent to hold our own with anyone," Hamilton said. "We've just got to get everyone together defensively, and that will be our job. Ben didn't come back for a rebuilding year, he came back because he sees the talent. We've just got to teach these young guys how to play defense and win."

Kuester got his first head-coaching job after contract negotiations broke down with Avery Johnson, so having three veterans of the Pistons' 2004 championship team is a big advantage.

"It's huge to have Rip, Tayshaun and Ben out there, because the biggest challenge we're going to have is to get stops," Kuester said. "We're going to be very good offensively at times, but from Day 1, we're going to have to preach defense, and those three guys are the best examples I could have. They've won a title with their defense."

While no one is thrilled by the amount of roster turnover, Hamilton has found one bright spot. He, Gordon and Villanueva all attended Connecticut.

"People ask if I can play alongside Ben, but we are both UConn guys. No school on the planet produces better guards than UConn, so it is a blessing to have him here," he said.

Gordon is equally as unconcerned about a style clash with his fellow shooting guard.

"I think our games are different enough that we're going to be great together," he said. "I've worked very hard on my playmaking skills, and I'm excited by the idea of having the ball in my hands with Rip coming off screens."

Villanueva, meanwhile, was checking the NBA's new social-networking policy and how it would impact his beloved Twitter account.

"They should definitely call this the 'Villanueva Rule' because I'm pretty sure I'm the reason for it," said Villanueva, who brought attention to the service by posting a tweet at halftime of a Bucks game last season. "I think Twitter is a lot of fun, and the fans deserve to have the interaction with us."

Kuester isn't worried about his players' Internet usage — most of them took part in an online chat with fans during the Media Day activities — as long as they play his style of basketball when training camp starts Tuesday.

"I've spent the last couple months getting to know my players as well as possible and getting my staff just the way I want it," he said. "Tomorrow, we finally get things started."